The imperious heroine of television’s Downton Abbey—that’s Lady Mary to you—is played by V.F. cover star Michelle Dockery, who will also appear in director Joe Wright’s upcoming adaptation ofAnna Karenina. Dockery answered some of our most pressing questions about *Downton’*s hotly anticipated third season—and the secrecy of its scripts!—in our chat with her over e-mail. Highlights from her conversation with VF.com:

Krista Smith: The V.F. cover with you on it is out! Tell us how it feels to be a cover star in America.

Michelle Dockery: It was wonderful. I loved meeting Claire, Julianna, and Sofía—and it was very liberating too because we didn’t have to choose any clothes!

Lady Mary is rarely without a hat, a jet-bead necklace, a jeweled hair comb, or a wineglass—which is your favorite accessory of hers?

Well, over the three series, many things have been replaced with the changes in fashion, but one thing that has remained in Mary’s jewellery box is a pair of earrings in the shape of a four-leaf clover. Mary wore them a lot when Matthew was at war—for luck, of course.

After singing on season two of Downton with Edith, now you’re singing some guest vocals on Elizabeth McGovern’s second folk-rock album—was music ever a potential career path for you?

I certainly considered it. I really enjoy singing, it’s entirely different to acting because I’m just being myself.

How often are you recognized?

I don’t get recognized all the time, but it tends to happen more in America, and people are so lovely when they do.

Do you have a favorite character other than your own?

Anna. She’s my favourite. Mainly because Joanne Froggatt is such a superb actress.

Tell us about how guarded the scripts are.

Veryguarded. We get our own scripts which are watermarked with our names on them. We live in a spoiler-filled world but there are a lot of fans out there that don’t want to know, so we just have to be careful not to leave scripts lying around.

In *Anna Karenina,*you’re working with Joe Wright and Keira Knightley—how was that?

I love working with Joe. We had an extensive rehearsal process with the dancers who appear in the film—they were extraordinary. I think it will be a really special film. I am currently filming series three of Downton, and then I will be doing a BBC adaptation of Restless by William Boyd with Hayley Atwell.*